The word "khana" in Indian Khana Made Easy means food. So come on, let's explore and cook some easy Indian food together including gluten-free and vegan dishes.

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March 27, 2011

My Peachy Atlanta Adventure - Part Two

Here are my favorite sights and sounds from the trip. The first of the sights was this long line of motorcycle cops in front of the CNN Headquarters. It looked like they were prepping for a parade or something. By the way, I saw police patrolling the streets on Segways too. Wish I had that picture!
What do you think they were up to? Anyways, our convention was held at the Georgia World Congress Center...it was way too big to capture on film. After the convention I didn't really want to look at it again. The convention officially started on Sunday and apparently that was the same day as the Eastern Conference Playoffs: Kentucky Wildcats vs. Florida Gators. The streets were swarming with people in blue and orange shirts, skirts, face paint holding loads of knick knacks. It was an awesome sight. By the way, the Kentucky Wildcats won and boy was there a lot of partying that night. It was "Dinner Impossible" that night; everywhere we went, there was a 2 hour wait for a table.  
I didn't really get to go sightseeing until Friday morning; a few hours before my flight back home. What a Whoop!  I've heard so much about the aquarium that I decided to go there first. The Georgia Aquarium is the world's largest aquarium...I couldn't believe it. I've been to aquariums before and I thought what is the big deal. My views were shattered once I stepped inside this place. What a sight! Beluga whales, exotic fish, albino crocodiles, sea anemone and those are just a few things you'll see. It's great for kids of all ages. 
Sea Anemone
I touched a sea anemone. I was scared at first but when I saw little kids doing it, I went for it. It was squishy and gel-like. You've got to come try it. Then I got down on my hands and knees and visited the African Penguins' habitat through the Penguin Crawl. I crawled through this small tunnel and was able to get up close and almost personal with them. Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBG0TFCUCvM. Next up are the Beluga Whales***. I was expecting something quite different than what I saw and heard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSVnLrf-oU8. I didn't know Beluga Whales are part Dolphin and part whale (in terms of their size). I thought I was looking at a Frankenstein experiment in action but they were so cute! This is just a fraction of the wondrous creatures at the aquarium. This is a MUST SEE!!
While I was walking through the aquarium, I ran into an acquaintance from the convention. So with my new friend, I headed off to the World of Coca Cola museum. I'm a big Coca Cola fan, so of course I had to go there. After learning about their history and pop culture, we headed off to watch the international commercials.  There were so many to watch but I just didn't have enough time, so we made our way to the Tasting Room. You read that correctly. You get taste all the beverages brewed by the company all around the world. I tried fruity drinks made in Latin America, Asia, and even North America. Who knew there were so many beverages? I was hiccuping and full of caffeinated energy by the end of it. Mind you I'm all grown up, I can handle all that sugar in take...there were little kids in there too...I feel sorry for the parents!
Cheers To You!
Before I left the museum, I walked away with my own glass bottle of Coca Cola. The prices were reasonable so I bought some souvenirs. Overall, I had a wonderful time in Atlanta and my next visit will be purely for vacation so I can see what more the city has to offer.

***I apologize for the short video, I think I caught them during their feeding time and wasn't able to get a more close up shot. 

March 23, 2011

*~~*Spring Into Holi*~~*

Don't let a little snow and cold weather bring you down. Spring weather is just around the corner. Once I got back from my business trip last weekend, I was ready to party. I was so excited because Sunday, March 20th was an important day for me. It was the first time I would be celebrating Holi (Spring Festival) in New York City in over 15 years. Holi, "the festival of colors", is celebrated by people throwing colored powder and water on each other. Not even the cold temperatures would stand in my way!


In North India, people specifically wear white on this day so the color shows out more. The celebrations typically can be from 3-16 days. If I were in India, I would go out into the street and enjoy with all of my friends and family. Alas, NYC is not India, but it was close enough.
The Holi celebration was hosted by NYC Bhangra and it was a FREE event. It's nice to know there are still people out there following our culture and feel it's important to share with everyone. My friend Avaneesh and I drove into the city for the festivities and had the time of our lives. Even though we parked the car a few streets up from the park, we could hear all the hangama from where we were standing. I couldn't wait to join in the music, the people, and the colors. As we made our way to the festivities, we saw people with colorful faces walking out of the park with big smiles. The festival was full of surprises including an exciting performance by New York Masti, an all Indian Female A Capella group. Also there were various types of dance performances from Indian Classical to Bollywood, Flamenco and Bhangra. Here's a glimpse of one of the Bhangra performances.
For more fun sights and sounds, check out the video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBp1shv0xL8
During all the performances, the event's volunteers worked their way around the audience and smeared colors on people's faces. My friend Avaneesh got lucky and the girl with the colors just put a tikka on his face and walked away. I grabbed some color off the plate and smeared some on his face. HA! It's not Holi without color all over your clothes. Good thing he wore his old clothes.
He looks too happy in this picture, doesn't he? He grabbed the color I hid in my hands and smeared it all over my hair...hey, at least now I don't need to go to a salon for highlights.
We were having so much fun that we worked up an appetite and were so glad they served delicious Indian food for a minimal price: samosas, chaat, chole kulche, pani puri, wadaa pav, keema pav, biryani, masala chai and lots of sweets. It was truly an awesome day.
After the festival, we drove back and ate more goodies; the halwa I made for the holiday. In my our culture, we do two things on every holiday: wear new clothes and make something special for the occasion. You can't tell but I wore a new sweater and I made Sooji Halwa.
It was my first time making it and you know what, it came out pretty well. So from our family to yours, Happy Holi!!